Renowned Intellectual Property Attorney Jack Waddey Joins Waller Along With Five More IP Attorneys

NASHVILLE, TN--(Marketwired - Jan 7, 2015) - Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP, Nashville's oldest and largest law firm, has significantly expanded its intellectual property practice with the addition of I.C. (Jack) Waddey, an industry leader with 40 years of experience in IP counseling and litigation, as partner. Waddey, who co-founded and helped lead Waddey Patterson Intellectual Property Law over the last 20 years, is joined by five additional IP attorneys, Larry Brantley, Andy Pitchford, Matthew Cox, Nate Bailey and Blake Bernard.

"Jack Waddey is a nationally recognized name in intellectual property law, and his addition to our firm has already helped us attract attorneys with broad and deep patent and other intellectual property experience," said Waller chairman Matt Burnstein. "Larry, Andy, Matthew, Nate and Blake together give Waller depth in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer engineering that complements the work we are already doing in healthcare, life sciences and manufacturing. We are thrilled he's with us and excited to see what Jack and this team will do when bolstered by the resources, support and infrastructure a full-service firm like Waller can provide. We intend to grow this practice further."

"These additions to our already well-established IP group will give Waller exceptional depth and experience in every facet of intellectual property law," said Robert P. Felber, Jr., a senior member of Waller's Intellectual Property practice. "Our clients will benefit from our ability to walk with them through every phase of growth, from entity formation, to financing, to the protection and monetization of intellectual property, to strategic acquisitions and more."

"It is key for intellectual property attorneys to focus on strategy and how companies can enhance their competitive positions and profitability by understanding the laws governing intellectual property," said Jack Waddey. "Being part of a full-service firm with access to attorneys who work in many different areas of the law will allow us to give clients support for all of their strategic needs."

Jack Waddey has represented clients as an adviser in developing their intellectual property portfolios, as a patent and trademark advocate, and as a mentor to startup organizations. He has assisted clients in obtaining more than 160 patents and has more than 40 years of experience in IP counseling and litigation, including trials representing clients in federal and state courts throughout the country and the United States Courts of Appeal. Waddey also regularly mediates complex intellectual property cases, and he is currently an adjunct professor at the Strauss Institute of the Pepperdine Law School, where he teaches a course on the mediation of IP cases. Most recently he was a co-founder and senior attorney of Waddey Patterson, where he was instrumental in the firm's growth for more than 20 years. He earned his J.D. in 1970 from Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as associate editor of the Georgetown Law Journal. He earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering in 1965 from Auburn University.

Larry Brantley has been practicing law for more than 17 years and has extensive experience in obtaining and protecting intellectual property rights for clients. He has assisted clients located in the United States and internationally with patent and trademark prosecution; copyright registration; patent, trademark, and copyright infringement litigation and licensing; and data rights counseling. He is licensed to practice law in Alabama and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office and will be based in Huntsville until licensed in Tennessee. Since 2011, Brantley has maintained an intellectual property practice and handled complex data rights issues for the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command. Brantley earned his J.D. in 1997 from the University of Alabama School of Law, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1989 from Auburn University. He also pursued graduate studies in Electrical Engineering at the University of Alabama in Huntsville from 1991-1994.

Andy Pitchford concentrates his practice on developing patent filing strategies, filing patent applications, managing existing patent portfolios, acquiring trademarks, evaluating existing patents for acquisition, licensing patents to third parties, advising on patentability and infringement issues, and enforcing intellectual property rights. Pitchford's areas of technical expertise include analog, digital and mixed signal circuits, medical devices, electronic controllers, mechanical devices and biotechnology. Pitchford earned his J.D. in 2005 from the University of Kentucky College of Law. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, magna cum laude, in 2001 from the University of Kentucky.

Matthew Cox represents clients in many areas of IP law, including patent preparation and prosecution, patent and trademark litigation, patent diligence for corporate transactions, patent opinion work, proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, licensing, counseling clients in overall IP strategy, and IP portfolio management. Cox's areas of technical expertise include mechanical and electro-mechanical systems, medical devices, heavy machinery, automotive, manufacturing, microfluidic devices, materials science, and aerospace applications. He earned his J.D. in 2009 from the University of Tennessee College of Law. He received a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2005 from Vanderbilt University and a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering in 2002 from Vanderbilt University.

Nate Bailey focuses on acquiring and enforcing intellectual property rights in the areas of patent, trademark and copyright law, including federal district court litigation and proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board and Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Bailey previously worked at the Trial Division of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. While at the USPTO, he worked in multiple technological areas, including electrical, computer, mechanical and chemical arts. Bailey also previously worked for a patent boutique firm in the Washington, D.C. area, where he participated in all aspects of IP litigation. He started his career clerking for the Honorable Glen M. Williams in the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. He earned his J.D. and an M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2007 from Southern Illinois University. He received his B.S. in Physics, Chemistry and Philosophy in 2004 from East Tennessee State University.

Blake Bernard focuses on patent and trademark prosecution and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the areas of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret law. Bernard primarily prosecutes patents in the mechanical, electromechanical and industrial arts. His technical background is in mechanical engineering, including designing portable medicinal refrigeration equipment for the CDC and working on industrial engineering and optimization processes for a large grocery supplier. He was also a teaching assistant for the physics department at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Bernard earned his J.D. in 2013 from the University of Alabama School of Law. He received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering with highest honors, in 2010, from Georgia Institute of Technology.

About Waller

Waller is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee with offices in Birmingham, Alabama, Austin, Texas, and Memphis, Tennessee. With approximately 200 attorneys, Waller helps clients navigate a diverse range of complex transactional, regulatory and litigation issues across myriad industries. Founded in 1905, Waller has client relationships spanning decades. For more information, please visit www.wallerlaw.com.